Lögberg-Heimskringla - 08.06.1984, Side 3

WINNIPEG, FOSTUDAGUR 8. JUNI 1984-3
Icelandair inaugurates service
to fourth U.S. gateway, Detroit
DETROIT, Mich. - It toök 10
years, but Icelandair finally came to
Detroit.
The pioneer of low cost transatlan-
tic travel jetted into Detroit-Wayne
County Airport May 11 on its first
scheduled transatlantic flight with
some 240 European vacationers,
businessmen, and journalists, and
two hours later departed with a full
planeload of Americans bound non-
stop for Luxembourg, Icelandair's"
principal gateway in Western
Europe. On the eastbound inaugural
. ere 15 travel agents from the
metropolitan Detroit area for a
Luxembourg familiarization trip.
The Detroit gateway, Icelandair's
fourth in the USA, will welcome non-
stop service to the Grand Duchy
every Friday evening'year-round. Re-
turn flights will make a half-hour
stop in Iceland before proceeding to
the Motor City.
Welcoming ceremonies for Ice-
landair were organized by the City of
Detroit, which provided a Rolls
'Royce to transport Sigurdur
Helgason, Sr., Chairman of the Board
of Icelandair, to his hotel, and the
Metropolitan Detroit Convention &
Visitors Bureau, which tendered a
reception for the airline, civic
leaders, and travel industry officials
of the State of Michigan to point up
the region's appreciation for the
transatlantic service and to promote
its own tourism attractions for
Europeans.
Mr. Helgason, in remarks to the
guests at the Fairlane Manor recep-
tion, observed that Icelandair "had
taken a decade to get to Detroit, but
that we believe the wait will prove
to have been worth it, both for you
and for us."
The carrier’s chief officer said that
the airline had conducted extensive
market studies of Detroit as a
prospective gateway back in the
mid-1970s, and that these studies
showed conclusively that a strong
base of support for transatlantic ser-
vice awaited.
"Unfortunately, what also awaited
was a period of severe trauma for
both the airline industrv and
Detroit's automobile business," Mr.
Helgason added, "and so our plans
had to be shelved."
What postponed matters was the
rapid escalation of jet fuel costs in the
latter ’70s, the woes brought on by
the deregulation of the airline in-
dustry by the U.S. government, and
a deepening recession in North
America. Icelandair — then still
known as Icelandic Airlines —
entered a period of multi-million
dollar annual operating losses that
forced entrenchment of carrier ser-
vices and staffs, reduced flight fre-
quencies, and threw a damper on
other expansion plans.
Mr. Helgason said that Icelandair's
dramatic turnaround came two years
ago, and that slowlv the airline
started re-energizing its expansion
program. Baltimore-Washington was
the first new gateway (autumn 1982),
and Orlando will be the fifth, in
September 1984, subject to U.S.
government approval.
"What makes Detroit so attractive
to us is its location, between our
largest gateways (New York and
Chicago) in an area that's rebounding
quickly from its troubles," Mr.
Helgason said. "We hope to make
Detroit a showcase for Icelandair m
the Midwest and we fully expect to
draw a considerable amount of traf-
fic from across the Canadian border,
as well, given our attractive fare
structures."
For its first three departures from
Detroit, Icelandair is offering a $468
round-trip Super Bargain Fare to Lux-
embourg. The peak season Super
Apex fare of $599 round-trip has pro-
ven to be a real attention-getter, with
bookings so heavy for summer that
the air.line has just announced an ad-
ditional four flights. They wili be on
June 20, June 23, June 26, and July 3.
In autumn, the $468 Super Bargain
Fare will again be offered, as well as
a Super Apex fare of $574 initially,
and lower for winter.
Travelers interested in a one-way
fare are offered a $315 Same Day
Reservations fare. This may be pur-
chased at aný time, but booked after
9:30 a.m. on the day of departure, if
space is available.
Unrestricted round-trip fare is $688
during peak season, which ranges
from June 10-Aug. 31, and $628 in
early autumn.
Other speakers at the official
Welcome to Detroit for Icelandair
were Iceland's Minister of Transpor-
tation, Matthias Bjarnason; William
McLaughlin, President of the
Metropolitan Detroit Convention &
Visitors Bureau; John Savich, Acting
Director of the Michigan Tourist
Bureau; and Fred Secrest, represent-
ing the Ford Motor Company.
A sprinkling of local travel agents
and tour operators were also on hand
for the reception, as were members
of-the local Nordic organizations.
Icelandair's Director-Western
Hemisphere, Sigurdur Helgason, Jr.,
and David Vilhelmsson, Director-
Eastern Hemisphere, from Frankfurt,
West Germany, also participated in
the welcome ceremonies. Sigfus Er-
lingsson, Senior Vice President-
Marketing of Icelandair in Reykjavík,
Iceland and U.S. Regional Sales
Managers Tom Loughery (Midwest)
and Einar Gustavsson (East) joined
in.
With the startup of Detroit service,
Icelandair will offer the • greatest
number of flight frequencies from
North America in its 32 year history
of scheduled service. During peak
season, New York and Chicago will
have daily flights, Balti-
more-Washington will have three
flights weekly, and Detroit one,
plus the four extra peak season
departures noted earlier.
DETROIT — lceland's Minister of Transportation, Matthias Bjar-
nason, was one of the speakers at a Detroit reception heralding
Icelandair's inauguration of service there. At right is Sigurdur
Helgason, the airline's Chairman, who also spoke.
--------ICELANDAIR.-------
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ICELAND
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And, remember, onlv Icelandair flies vou tó the breathtaking beautv of
Iceland. And includes all these extras:
■ Free bus service from Luxembourg to Frankfurt, Dusseldorf,
Cologne. Bitburg, Mannheim and Wuppertal, Germanv; and select cities
in Belgium and Holland. ■ Bargain trainíares to Switzerland and
France. ■ Free wine with dinner, cognac after. ■ Bargain stopover
tours of Iceland. ■ Car rentals at $69/week in Luxembou.-g.
Sce vour travc) agcnt. Or writc lcclandair. F.O. Box
105. West Henipstead, NY 11552. orcall 800/555-1212
for thc toll-fre^ Icclandair number in your arca.
ICELANDAIR&
NOWHORf THANMR YOURBfST VAWi TO EUROPf
Lowest airfares to Luxembourg—the heart
of Europe—from New York, Chicago,
Detroit and Baltimore/Washington.